Chapter 28
Chapter 28
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 28
Dudududududu.
"Good grief!"
Three days of galloping had pushed Risel to his physical limits. Seventy-five was by no means young. No, the problem wasn't that he was old—it was that he was at an age where digging a grave and climbing in wouldn't raise a single eyebrow.
"Halt!"
"Halt!"
"Heeheeheeng!"
When Go Jin-cheon raised his hand at the front of the column, the command rippled back through the ranks. Everyone swiftly dismounted. With Uru's help, Risel rubbed life back into his numb lower body and managed to set his feet on the ground.
"Oof."
"Rest well today."
"Is that permissible?"
At Uru's words, Risel's aged eyes flashed open as if he were experiencing a final rally before death. Normally, they pressed on under cover of darkness and halted the advance only when they could no longer see the path ahead. But darkness hadn't yet settled over the sky, so Risel's question was only natural.
"We've nearly reached our objective. Likely we'll go into battle tomorrow, or the day after at the latest."
"Haaah..."
A long sigh of amazement spilled from Risel's lips. They had covered a week's journey in just three days. Barely enough time had passed to stop a horse and drink a cup of tea, yet soldiers were already preparing their meals here and there.
When night fell and darkness settled in and the naked eye could no longer make out the smoke, they began roasting the game they'd caught during the march over open fires, enjoying a feast unlike anything they'd had before.
Sssk.
"Eat, Teacher."
"Thank you."
When Uru sliced off a handsomely roasted chunk of meat and offered it respectfully, a small smile touched Risel's lips. Never in his life had he received such deferential treatment. Though his body was exhausted and aching, this moment was the happiest time of his existence.
Uru constantly questioned him about the army here during meals, and Risel diligently shared everything he knew. But their conversation halted when Jin-cheon's voice cut in.
"Risel."
"You've come."
Risel rose from his seat at Jin-cheon's arrival and offered a respectful greeting. Jin-cheon gave a slight nod and spoke.
"Tomorrow I'll assign some soldiers to you. Stay here until the fighting's over."
"Pardon?"
Risel's eyes rounded. After driving him at a mad gallop all the way here, now that battle was imminent they were telling him to sit it out far away—Risel couldn't help wearing a flabbergasted expression.
Risel stood with his mouth slightly open for a moment, then pointed a finger at himself and asked.
"Then what... do I do?"
"What else? You'll pick out the valuables."
"Pardon?"
Jin-cheon lopped off the head and tail of his answer, leaving Risel looking even more bewildered. Actually, understanding an answer like that would have been the weirder outcome.
"You must speak plainly, my lord..."
"Mm."
At Risel's words, Jin-cheon nodded and began to supply the answer he wanted.
"Once the battle's over that day, we'll loot the house of that Alvin fellow who rules this place. But as we're looting, the haul will pile up. Now tell me—who knows better which items here are valuable, you or us?"
"Well... I would know better, naturally."
"Exactly."
In short, Jin-cheon's point was that he'd dragged Risel along as an impromptu appraiser.
"Is that all?"
At Risel's dazed question, another reason emerged.
"No. Furthermore, you know the books of this place better than we do."
"Yes."
"And the buildings where we lived and the buildings here are different, the styles are different—you'll be faster at finding valuable things than we will."
"That is so."
It was absurd, yet profoundly practical. To put it plainly, to Jin-cheon right now, Risel was an assistant for looting as thoroughly and swiftly as possible. Jin-cheon addressed Risel with a deliberately grave expression.
"To survive in this place, we need those books and maps and more. Finding them is your task."
"..."
Uru's eyes glittered more brightly than Risel's at Jin-cheon's declaration. To him, it rang with a single meaning: Jin-cheon's will had been set.
"Then rest well tonight. Uru, see to it that guards are detailed to protect Risel."
"Understood."
"Got it."
Jin-cheon gave the order to Uru and slowly withdrew.
Night passed and a dim dawn broke. The wild gallop of the previous day was gone. Everyone driving their mounts forward proceeded in silence, quietly approaching the fortress.
"General."
"How'd it go?"
"There's almost no military presence outside the town."
"That so. Just as I thought."
"Yes."
Uru, having received the scouts' report, summoned the nearby deputy commanders with a gesture.
"Listen well."
Once his subordinate officers had gathered, Uru took the lead and issued a string of orders.
"First, all troops will remain here on alert and stand by until nightfall. After that—Gurajaengi!"
"Yes."
As he issued instructions, he called out to Gye Ung-sam, and a short, solid voice answered.
"When night falls, you'll take the swordsmen and go over the wall first."
"Yes."
Uru gave Ung-sam the order to seize the city gate. Ung-sam's eyes glittered as if to say, Don't worry.
"Once the gate's secured, you'll call for us. When we take over the gate entrance, we'll seal the other gates immediately. You understand?"
As Uru underscored the point, Ung-sam's lip curled slightly as if dismissing the concern, and he raised his own scabbard.
"Don't worry, General."
"Good. If you're lying about this too, you're dead."
"..."
The thought that a single slip might disable him for life flickered through Ung-sam's mind as he lapsed into silence.
Ssssss.
Several figures burst through the wind and out of the dark forest, racing toward the fortress wall.
"..."
Only the occasional watchman appeared in sight. The wall stood over four mir high. When no passersby were visible, Gye Ung-sam's eyes gleamed. As if by prearranged signal, one man put his back to the wall, and Ung-sam quietly drew back.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Fshhhht!
With a single running start, Ung-sam leaped toward one of the soldiers, who had cupped his hands together and launched Ung-sam's feet upward as he jumped.
THUMP!
A four-mir wall posed no obstacle. With Ung-sam in the lead, nine swordsmen flew onto the walltop. Once the tenth man had climbed up, they scattered left and right as if they'd rehearsed it beforehand.
The soldiers manning the wall's watchtower were chatting in murmurs.
"Ah, damn it. With troops pulled out, the workload just piles on, and I'm dead tired."
"You're the one always dozing off, and you have the nerve to say you're tired?"
"Senton. That's exactly why I'm tired, isn't it? Can't sleep in a bed, have to sleep standing up..."
"Why—!"
But their conversation could go no further. A cold foreign object slid across the speaking man's vocal cords and artery, and he collapsed helplessly. And the one called Senton could offer no resistance against the savage grip that clamped over his mouth.
"Mmph!"
"How many guards are there right now? Answer honestly, and I'll grant you anything. Refuse, and just die."
"Mmph mmph mmph mmph!"
Ung-sam's words in the continental tongue reached Senton and gave him hope for life. And Senton, determined not to miss the chance, sent back an affirmative look while desperately nodding his head up and down. Whether Senton's sincerity got through or not, the hand over his mouth slowly loosened.
"Good."
"Hahk, hahk—th-there are twelve of us in all. And there are five more on standby in that building over there."
"Hmm."
When he even babbled facts no one had asked for, Ung-sam let a faint smile slip and whispered low into Senton's ear, asking what he wanted as his reward.
"Well then, what shall I grant you?"
Senton's request in answer to Ung-sam's question was simple.
"Please spare my life."
"That's all it costs?"
Senton, regaining his composure at Ung-sam's wide-eyed counter-question, watched his expression and cautiously spoke.
"I... while you're at it, some money to settle somewhere..."
"Only that? Will granting that alone suffice?"
At Ung-sam's cheerfully obliging words, Senton slowly began to voice his hopes.
"Let me take a horse, too."
"And?"
"And while you're at it, a generous amount of money..."
"Fine."
"Th-thank you!"
When Ung-sam released him and spoke with such heartily agreeable words, Senton bowed low again and again in gratitude. But the back that bent once never rose again. Because a cold blade had torn through his torso.
SHNK!
"Keurgh. Why... you said you'd grant it..."
As Senton's accusing gaze turned toward Ung-sam, who was wiping the blood from his blade, Ung-sam spoke with an indifferent expression.
"Hm? I granted it. Not enough? Say more. I'll grant as much as you like."
"...Swindler."
Thud.
"Tch, what a letdown."
Behind Ung-sam, who slid his sword into its sheath with a brazen face, Senton collapsed, his thread of life cut. Only futility remained in his lifeless eyes.
"Ten copper to call, raised to one silver. Bill, you in?"
"..."
"Mmm."
The eyes of the men around the round table flickered through the air like predators eying prey. Then Bill, who was in the middle, slowly placed a card down before him.
"..."
"Why don't you fold?"
When the man who'd wagered one silver gave a nasty smirk, Bill slowly reached for the money piled in front of him. And then a single word was tossed out.
"All in."
"Huk!"
"What!"
"Damn!"
In an instant, the atmosphere in the room spiraled like a storm. Bill's icy gaze fixed on the man before him.
"You taking it?"
"I fol—"
Knock knock.
"Hey! Clean it up, patrol!"
Shuffle-shuffle!
At the sound of knocking on the door, the guards sprang into swift action. Of course, the face of the man who'd just been talking about dying brightened radiantly, while Bill's cool expression had become quite a sight to behold.
But cleaning up was their best option, and right now there was no other way. Cards and coins littered the tabletop, all too clearly spelling out the situation.
"Bill, you hide it well?"
"Yeah, you miserable bastard."
"It's fine. Open up."
The guards let out a relieved breath and carefully opened the door, revealing the grim face of the guard captain. In that moment—perhaps because of their guilty consciences—nothing but an awkward smile hung on the guards' mouths.
"Ah, ahaha—Captain! On patrol, are you?"
"..."
"Ha... haha."
Even in the face of the guard's forced good cheer, the captain's expression did not ease. In an instant, a single thought slammed through the guards' heads!
'We're caught!'
Feeling as if their hearts had plummeted, the guards forced themselves to smile and began showering the captain with excuses.
"Well, we were just—just playing for fun, you know. It's not like we wagered that much mon—huh?"
"Captain!"
"Oh! Captain."
But before the excuses had even finished, the guard captain toppled backward like a stone statue, and the guard at the door frantically caught him. In that moment, a scene of hell unfolded before the guards.
SLASH!
"Geurgk!"
WHIZZ!
"Heugk!"
A blade that had cut through the air from beside the door sent a guard's head flying through the air. At the same instant, a dagger that had shot forward like a flash of light punched through the lead soldier's throat.
"Rhyle!"
"Wh-what is this!"
Bill's panicked voice rang out just as two figures leaped inside and flashes of steel whirled.
"Heeiik!"
Slice!
"The enemy—keuhp!"
Puwooouk.
Under the murderous blade, the head of the guard who was screaming was separated from his body in the blink of an eye and went flying. And the guard who'd at least tried to sound the alarm couldn't get another word out, the cold sensation of something ramming into his mouth stopping him forever. In Bill's now-frozen eyes, the card poking out from under a blanket was reflected.
SLASH!
"Geurk!"
Thud.
"Good. Send the signal."
Ung-sam, who had cut the throat of the last remaining man at the back, confirmed the gate was under control in a low voice and issued his order to the remaining swordsmen.